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Last updated: 20 July 2009
Ensuring that, alongside government, a thriving third sector enables people to change society for the better.
Third sector organisations are playing a hugely important role in empowering local communities to work together to address their own unique challenges. Our own Office of the Third Sector (OTS) strives to help them continue to be a force for good in our society.
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By March 2009, 5,000 grants of between £250 and £5,000 had been awarded to small volunteer-led community groups across the country, totalling £16 million.
For up to 40% of these groups, it was the first time they had ever received a grant.
It is often the smallest, volunteer-led organisations within local communities that make the biggest difference in changing society for the better. They can be particularly effective in giving a voice to marginalised groups. The Cabinet Office recognises the work of these grassroots groups and has taken action to support them.
Throughout the year, our £130 million Grassroots Grants programme has provided much needed access to small grants for local community groups across England. By March 2009, 5,000 grants of between £250 and £5,000 had been awarded to small volunteer-led community groups across the country, totalling £16 million. For up to 40% of these groups, it was the first time they had ever received a grant.
The grants include £2,175 given to mother-and-child support service Maternity Buddy11, - the 2,500th grant awarded under the scheme. Maternity Buddy was set up by Lincoln University student Leanne Moreland to help support pregnant women with anything from learning English to accessing public services or simply making friends. It has proven so successful that in just a year, 21 volunteers have helped over 150 families.
Leanne applied to the Lincolnshire Community Foundation, one of 67 Local Funders selected across England to distribute Grassroots Grants. Local community groups with annual incomes below £30,000 can apply for a grant of £250 to £5,000 in a straightforward and easy way.
Leanne said:
‘Two thousand pounds might not seem like a lot of money to some voluntary groups, but for a small project like ours that has never received grant funding before, it will make a massive difference.
Now we have funding to increase the range of services we offer and reach even more people in need. One of the ways we’re doing this is through our exciting new interactive website11.’
Grassroots Grants, a £130 million scheme aiming to provide much needed access to small grants for local community groups, will run from 2008-2011 and be divided into two parts:
The work of the Third Sector advisory board will help equip the Third Sector with a stronger voice in policy-making, on behalf of the people they represent.
The Cabinet Office recognises that third sector organisations could achieve more if they could make better use of their community buildings. Through the £30 million Community Assets programme, funded by the OTS and delivered by the Big Lottery Fund, we are giving them the opportunity to improve facilities and extend services.
The first Community Asset grant was awarded to Chester-le-Street District Council and Pelton Fell Community Group in November 2008. A grant of £337,000 will fund the refurbishment and extension of the Pelton Fell Community Resource Centre, and put it back into the hands of the community who will actually use it.
The new facilities including a café, sports bar and a multi-use games area were chosen by the community. The centre will be used by over 3,000 local people and 30 community organisations.
In July 2008 the Third Sector Advisory Body was set up to provide ministers with clear and authoritative advice on policy regarding the third sector - this included charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises.
Chaired by Baroness Jill Pitkeathley, the Advisory Body has an overview of the work of the Cabinet Office's OTS team and advises ministers on future priorities, issues and policies which might affect the sector. The Advisory Body published a Health Check of the OTS in March 2009.
The report, based on a series of stakeholder interviews, provided a great deal of positive feedback alongside a series of recommendations for the OTS to take forward. A copy of the report can be found on the Cabinet Office website13.
The OTS strategic funding programme enables the views of the sector to be heard and allows it to help shape the development of government policy. Providing long-term unrestricted funding to third sector organisations that operate at a national and regional level, it offers financial stability to our strategic partners.
In July 2008 OTS announced an extension to the programme for a further two years, continuing the funding for over 40 partners until March 2011. Our partners, who include organisations such as the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), the Social Enterprise Coalition and v, the youth volunteering charity, can speak with authority and credibility over a very wide range of sector interests. Our strategic funding of these organisations in unrestricted grants represents a long-term partnership with the sector.
The strategic partner organisations are funded to enable them to fairly reflect the views of their members to government through activities including events, conferences, research or consultation. For its part, OTS consults and involves partners in policy development, taking into account the evidence, advice and opinion they provide.
The third sector, with its speed and local knowledge, is vital to help the country respond to the challenges of the downturn. But the global recession is also having an impact on voluntary organisations, including the charitable donations on which they depend.
The then Third Sector Minister, Kevin Brennan, chaired a summit with the National Council of Voluntary Organisations on the impact of the downturn on the third sector in November 2008.
Sector representatives highlighted a number of challenges they were facing in the current economic climate, and more importantly discussed how Government and the sector could work together. In recent months the OTS has acted as a central hub to quickly collect evidence measuring the impact of the recession on the third sector and helping to identify and address current and future challenges.
A £42.5 million cross-government action plan, Real Help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises14, was published in February 2009. It builds on the wide range of measures the Government has put in place to support people through the economic downturn, and on the Government's long-term commitment tovoluntary organisations and social enterprises. Its strength lies in a co-ordinated response to the downturn, rather than piecemeal approaches by a range of individual departments.
Third sector organisations make a hugely important contribution to the design and delivery of public services. Two years ago, OTS published the Public Service Action Plan. It committed the Government to a series of actions to reduce the barriers faced by third sector organisations in delivering public services. The past year has seen government take major steps towards achieving this goal. The principles of the action plan are being implemented across government departments and the sector is developing and delivering improved public services.
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The centre will be used by over 3,000 local people and 30 community organisations.
To enable the third sector to deliver public services, commissioners need to understand what the sector offers and how they can work with them. To deliver this, the National Programme of Third Sector Commissioning was set up.
The programme:
Those taking part in the training are acquiring a better understanding of working in partnership with the third sector. The programme will continue into 2011.
Backing up this commitment to working in partnership, last year the Government published practical advice and information for smaller organisations who may wish to work together in order to bid for public service contracts.
At its best, the third sector's close links with local communities enable it to create innovative approaches to delivering services. To support the development of these innovative ideas the Innovation Exchange was established. It provides third sector innovators with access to the people and potential capital they need to develop their ideas, and uses their innovations to inform improved public service delivery.
In November 2008 the Innovation Exchange launched its Next Practice Programme. The Programme will support and showcase the best in third sector innovation. Fourteen projects focusing on independent living and excluded young people are receiving support packages. These can include expert consultancy and a share of a £200,000 NESTA Innovation Exchange Fund. Further details of the programme can be found on the Innovation Exchange website12.